On 6/24-25, I visited Shenyang Eye Research Institute, a growing eye research institute in the Fourth People’s Hospital, Shenyang, China. During my visit, I shared our vision on using zebrafish to screen traditional Chinese medicines for better vision with the local eye doctors and research students. I am very impressed with the dedication of the students and leadership team in establishing a competitive research program. To improve their English skill, they have established a regular English debate on non-scientific subjects! I enjoyed participating in their lively discussion. I look forward to interact more with this enthusiastic group in the future!

With Drs Yang Qu and Shaodan Zhang, and the enthusiastic research students.

I outlined our approach on using simple visual behaviour assays to identify positive effects of drugs. I specifically emphasized on the potential to analyze many of traditional Chinese medicines; the treasure that we have been consuming for generations. Some of these possibilities are outlined in our recent review paper:

The interaction with the students was fantastic. They were very imaginative and eager to ask questions all the time! Their enthusiasm was infectious and is the driving force of scientific progress. That also reminded me of the problem of our education in stifling creativity when students are “educated”, which I wrote in a separate post recently.

This is truly an enjoyable experience and I look forward to visiting them again soon!

Prof Pang and Chen first met with Prof. Marietta Harrison, Associate Vice-President for Research and Dr. Geanie Umberger, Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations to discuss collaborative plans between the Leung Lab, Purdue and JSIEC. Our long-term goal is to explore the opportunities in clinical eye research and drug screening in China.